Rock climbing is an activity that is both mentally and physically demanding. Climbers compete with themselves and their environment to reach the summits of a formation or other predefined goals. The sport tests a climber's endurance, agility, and strength while providing an element of danger, which although minimal if executed properly, requires the climber to exercise mental control to ensure completion of their goal. Once a climber reaches the summit or their set goal they can begin a controlled descent down the same rock face.
A controlled descent, commonly referred to as abseiling or rappelling, is a technique to descend down a mountain face, cliff, or slope that may pose a danger to the climber or individual if they attempt to descend the area without protective equipment. Abseiling or rappelling is commonly used in a variety of situations that include but are not limited to, climbing, canyoneering, caving, and rescue operations. The basic equipment for rappelling includes a climbing or rappelling rope, an anchor, a rappelling device, and a climbing harness. The climber is able to control their rappel by having their rope attached to an anchoring point and using a rappelling device to apply friction to the rope as they move down a surface. Unfortunately, the rappelling device is not the only thing that can cause friction to a climber's rope. The surface a climber is descending can have a plurality of rough or sharp points of contact that can potentially damage the climber's rope. These rough or sharp points of contact can reduce the ropes strength and potentially create a life threatening situation for the climber.
While there are several prior art that attempt to reduce abrasion from contacting surfaces on a climbing rope, most of the prior art are ineffective in use or are disadvantageous for descending a rock face. one prior art example is U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,575, A Rope and Webbing Protector, which describes a tubular protector that rolls around a section of a rope. While this prior art prevents direct contact to the section of rope covered by the apparatus, it is unable to protect the climbing rope multiple contact points during a descent. Another prior art example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,626, Flexible Protective Sleeve, which describes a protective sleeve that slides over a rope or similar tubular device and attaches itself through the use of an adhesive. While this prior art protects the portion of the rope from abrasive surfaces, the permanent/semi permanent attachment method limits the functionality of the particular rope during use.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that extends over an existing climbing rope providing a barrier that protects the climbing rope from fraying and weakening as a result of direct contact with damaging surfaces. The apparatus utilizes an extendable sleeve that is detachably engaged to a breakaway wrist strap in order to protect the climbing rope from damaging surfaces. The extendable sleeve functions as a barrier that prevents direct contact between the climbing rope and damaging surfaces. The breakaway wrist strap functions as the attachment means between the climber and the extendable sleeve that easily detaches from the extendable sleeve without a sudden jerk. The apparatus extends over the length of the climbing rope from a compressed state as the climber makes a descent.